ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s been six months since a teen was killed in a SWAT standoff. Now, his household’s legal professional stated they’re nonetheless working to get what they should file a wrongful demise lawsuit and claimed the town shouldn’t be coming by means of with all the data they’re requesting.
The authorized staff of Brett Rosenau’s household stated they’ve solely acquired a small quantity of the proof they requested. The household filed a public data request violation lawsuit in August, claiming the town is withholding data on the SWAT state of affairs that led to the death of 15-year-old Brett Rosenau.
“We’re presently litigating it now, and we’re hoping that the choose will assist us get the data we’re looking for within the close to future,” stated Taylor Smith, the legal professional representing Rosenau’s household.
Rosenau died after that standoff changed into a hearth; an investigation later confirmed the fireplace was seemingly attributable to a pepper spray canister utilized by legislation enforcement.
The household’s legal professional stated that each different company they’ve filed a information request with, together with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Workplace, which aided the Albuquerque Police Division on that SWAT callout, has turned over what they’ve requested for.
“Anytime we’ve requested the town for solutions as to why it’s taking so lengthy, I might confer with this gaslighting, you realize, they have an inclination to inform us that we’re asking for an excessive amount of data too rapidly.”
In court docket Tuesday, the town responded to the protection’s request for a movement to compel, saying they’ve informed the legal professional it would take a very long time to course of the request due to how large it’s.
The town stated the preliminary request was submitted on July 12, simply days after the incident, and that they informed the household it will take longer. The swimsuit was then filed on August 3.
In response to that response in court docket, the town stated they’ve near 300 movies, that are 8 to 10 hours lengthy, which have to be sifted by means of and correctly redacted. They stated {that a} request with these lengths of video will take months to supply.
The town additionally stated the whole lot that’s accessible has been correctly redacted has been handed over, and no request has been denied. It stated its IPRA workers continues to arrange the remainder of the household’s requests.
In December, Brett Rosenau’s aunt additionally filed a lawsuit towards the town and Albuquerque police, claiming a violation of public information legislation.
